Wuhr Qualifies for NCAA National Tourney
BEREA, OHIO -- The Baldwin-Wallace College wrestling team finished third at the 2004 Ohio Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship Tournament in University Heights, Ohio and host John Carroll University at the DeCarlo Varsity Center and Yellow Jacket senior 141-pounder Sayre Wuhr (Hudson) qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament next weekend.
The Yellow Jackets had 51 points and qualified five wrestlers to the finals with Wuhr winning the title and earning a trip next weekend to Dubuque, Iowa and to Loras College for the NCAA tourney. Overall, it was an outstanding effort by Head Coach Rich Fleming's Yellow Jackets.
Joining Wuhr in the championship round were sophomore All-American Jared Selover (Wapakoneta) at 133 pounds, junior Joe Heiland (Shelby) at 165 pounds, senior Tom DeLuca (Norwalk/ Senior) at 197 pounds and sophomore 285-pounder Bryan Kmetz (Brunswick). All five, including Wuhr, earn All-OAC accolades for their efforts.
Wuhr entered the tournament seeded second and defeated Kyle Breiner of Wilmington College in the first round, 11-0, and third-seeded Sean Connelly of Mount Union College, 6-0, in the semi finals. In the championship match, Wuhr beat top-seeded Luke Spurlock of Heidelberg College in sudden death overtime, 5-3. Wuhr will take a 26-7 record to the national event. He is 64-32 in his four-year career, including a 6-9 mark when he wrestled at Capital University as a freshman. Wuhr transferred to B-W in the Fall of 2001 when Capital decided to eliminate its wrestling program.
Selover, an All-American with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships a year ago at 125 pounds, beat Paul Compton of Heidelberg in his first match, 4-0, and then lost in the finals 8-6 to third-seeded Tim Lennox of host JCU. Selover ends his season at 22-7 overall. After two years in the Brown & Gold, Selover has a 57-15 mark.
Heiland, who was the OAC Champion at 165 pounds a year ago, lost to JCU's Ryan Ficco in the championship match, 6-0. A year ago, Heiland beat Ficco in the title match and advanced to the national tourney. Heiland entered the OAC tourney having not competed in more than four weeks due to a rib injury suffered in a dual match at Heidelberg. At the OAC tourney, he competed avliantly, beating Brad Statzer of Wilmington in the first round, 7-4, and fifth-seeded Tim Maxworthy of Heilelberg in the semi finals, 3-1, in sudden death overtime. Heiland ends his season at 18-6 overall and has a three-year varsity mark of 62-18 overall.
DeLuca was competing in just his second event this year and in his career. Due to a shoulder injury suffered as a freshman, DeLuca had not competed on the mat until he decided four weeks ago to give it a try. The two-time All-OAC defensive back in football won his only redgular season match and was seeded fourth with a 1-0 mark. At the OAC tourney, DeLuca beat Dutin Poore of Ohio Northern, 4-2, and for the second time in two weeks. In the semi finals, DeLuca defeated top-seeded Dan Brown of JCU, 3-1, with a takedown in the final second of the match. In the championship match, DeLuca lost to second-seeded Lance Marcus of Wilmington, 13-6, but the match was much closer than the final score would indicate.
Kmetz entered the tournament seeded second. He defeated Shaun Wellert of Ohio Northern in his first match, 9-0, and third-seeded Bryan Kennedy of Wilmington in the semi finals, 7-4. In the championship match, Kmetz had top-seeded Derek Ankney on his back in the first period but a reversal of fortune found Kmetz on his back and he was pinned. It ended an outstandinmg year for Kmetz who leads the Yellow Jackets in wins with 28 and was 28-5 overall.
Wrestling at the 2004 NCAA Division III National Championship Meet will take place on Friday and Saturday, March 5-6 at Loras. For more information, you can log onto the Loras College Web Site at www.loras.edu or on the NCAA Championships site at www.ncaachampionships.com.
FOR MORE B-W SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact SID Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX Machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. To contact Head Wrestling Coach Rich Fleming, please call him at 440-826-3258, FAX him at 440-826-2192 or e-mail him at rfleming@bw.edu.
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